Compete with AI cars in this novel racing game

This article was taken from the April 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content bysubscribing online.

Shrink down Google's driverless car to the size of a matchbox, add weapons, and you have the Anki DRIVE. The $200 (£130) racing game lets players pit their iOS-app-controlled car against an artificially intelligent, self-driving opponent. Launched by San Francisco-based Anki in October last year, the game brings the advanced robotics used in space and defence to consumers. "The AI has planning algorithms to anticipate your moves," says Boris Sofman, CEO and cofounder of Anki. "You are playing a smart opponent." The game uses a vinyl mat embedded with location-markers and two cars equipped with cameras that sense their environment 500 times a second.

Along with its robotics software, Anki has used its $50 million in venture funding from firms such as Andreessen Horowitz to differentiate itself by its design. "We worked with Hollywood vehicle designer Harald Belker, who makes movie machines such as the Batmobile," says Sofman. "We are definitely not Hot Wheels. We are a new type of entertainment."

This article was first published in the April 2014 issue of WIRED magazine